My Money Blog

Online Bank Comparison: Capital One 360, VirtualBank, Emigrant Direct, and HSBC Direct

Posted on December 31, 2005 // 92 Comments

Update: This post is no longer updated. Please see my new online bank comparison, which includes current high-yield savings accounts from a variety of FDIC-insured banks. I have redone my old Online Bank Comparison to drop Presidential Premier … [Read the rest]

Stuff I Found Useful

Posted on December 30, 2005 // 1 Comment

I don't always get a chance to talk about all the posts I find especially helpful during the week, so I think I'll start doing that. JLP of AllThingsFinancial put in some hard work and posted his guide to 2006 resolutions. Savvy Saver informed … [Read the rest]

Pentagon Federal Offers CDs at 5.5% to 6.0% APY

Posted on December 29, 2005 // 4 Comments

I've blogged about Pentagon Federal Money Market Cerificates (CDs) before, including how to join, previously. PenFed has just announced new rates, and several of them are very competitive - 3 Year CD - 5.5% APY 5 Year CD - 5.75% APY 7 Year CD - … [Read the rest]

Newbie Freelancing Thoughts

Posted on December 29, 2005 // 12 Comments

Everyone who has does any freelancing or independent consulting will say DUH, but here are my thoughts on freelancing so far: » Need to get better at estimating the time required to finish a job, including any hiccups that are bound to … [Read the rest]

Cashing Out My 529 Plan

Posted on December 27, 2005 // 6 Comments

As noted in my net worth updates, I have 529 account as part of my Fidelity 2% Cash Back card. The 2% is nice, but the only way to get your contributions and earnings out of the 529 tax-free is to have real college expenses. Now that I'm in … [Read the rest]

MBTrading.com – Researching A New Stock Broker

Posted on December 26, 2005 // 27 Comments

I am warming up to my idea of making a separate brokerage account for all of the free money I've gotten from banks, brokerages, and credit card companies. After some preliminary research, I'm leaning very heavily towards one broker - MB Trading, as … [Read the rest]

Giving

Posted on December 24, 2005 // 4 Comments

Although we should be giving back throughout the year, I know I tend to give at the end of year. Thanks for all who responded to my charity suggestion post - my wife and I have decided where to give this year. We are giving at least $100 to each of … [Read the rest]

Dollar Cost Averaging versus Lump Sum Investing?

Posted on December 22, 2005 // 35 Comments

A good discussion came up in my previous post on my IRAs - Should I invest the $4,000 earmarked for my 2006 Roth IRA contribution all at once in January, or dollar-cost-average it over the entire year? Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) involves investing … [Read the rest]

Retirement Portfolio End of Year Check-Up

Posted on December 22, 2005 // 10 Comments

Just to be clear, I only trade individual stocks on my Play Money portfolio. All our retirements funds are going to stay in low-cost index funds. Currently everything is in two funds - Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 (VTTHX) and Vanguard Target … [Read the rest]

Sold 100 Shares of Scholr Pharma Stock

Posted on December 22, 2005 // 6 Comments

I really only glance at my stock portfolio about once every other day, mostly to check that nothing has imploded. My desire to be a knowledgeable stock investor fizzled after reading books about index funds and how people much smarter than me can't … [Read the rest]

Tips and Tools for 0% APR Balance Transfers

Posted on December 20, 2005 // 27 Comments

Please also see my updated guide on How To Make Money From 0% APR Balance Transfers So you've gotten yourself a nice credit card or two, and have already started or are thinking about playing the 0% APR balance transfer game. Now, there are two … [Read the rest]

Self Employment Tax Research: 50% Off?

Posted on December 20, 2005 // 17 Comments

Let me preface this by saying that I am not anywhere near an expert on taxes. I haven't even itemized deductions before, since I don't have any mortgage interest to get me over that standard deduction hump. Thus, I'm just writing what I think I'm … [Read the rest]